Leonardo V Riella

About Leonardo V Riella

Dr. Leonardo V. Riella is the Harold and Ellen Danser Endowed Chair in Transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Associate Professor of Medicine and Surgery at Harvard Medical School. As the Medical Director of Kidney Transplantation, Dr. Riella is recognized for his expertise in kidney transplantation, and he plays a pivotal role in advancing the field through his leadership, teaching and research. He is also an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and serves as an Associate and Section Editor for the American Journal of Transplantation.Dr. Riella completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and his Nephrology and Transplantation Fellowship at the combined BWH and Massachusetts General Hospital Program at Harvard Medical School.Dr. Riella’s research is at the forefront of innovation, focused on understanding the mechanisms of immune regulation and developing novel therapies to promote organ tolerance. His lab is pioneering solutions to the organ transplant shortage by exploring two groundbreaking approaches: bioengineering kidneys from human stem cells and utilizing gene-modified pigs as potential kidney donors. He led the first xenotransplant into a human living in March 2024. Overall, these innovative strategies have the potential to revolutionize organ availability and reshape the future of transplantation.He co-leads the TANGO study, a multi-center investigation into the recurrence of glomerular disease post-transplant, and the GENIE study, which explores dietary interventions in patients with nephrotic syndrome.Dr. Riella has authored over 200 publications and book chapters and has been honored with numerous awards, including the Young Innovator Award from the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the 2016 Basic Science Career Development Award from AST, the 2020 BWH/MGH Faculty Teaching Award, and the 2024 Basic Science Investigator Award from AST. His research is currently funded by the NIH, Department of Defense, philanthropy, and industry grants.

Experience

1. Director of Kidney Transplantation

   Massachusetts General Hospital

   Jul 2020 — Present

Education

• Unifesp - Universidade Federal de São Paulo

  PhD, Transplant Immunology

  2009 — 2010

• Universidade Federal do Paraná

  MD, Medicine

  1997 — 2003

• Harvard Medical School

  Internal Medicine and Nephrology Training

  2004 — 2011

Skills

• Healthcare Management
• Critical Care
• Cardiology
• Clinical Research
• Pediatrics
• Transplantation
• Hospitals
• Medicine
• Board Certified
• Transplant
• Healthcare
• Healthcare Information Technology
• Cancer
• Public Health
• Medical Education
• Immunology
• Kidney Transplant
• Lifesciences
• Cell Biology
• Medical Research
• Translational Research
• Epidemiology
• Nephrology
• Internal Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Clinical Trials